God’s Original Purpose For You

In his best-selling book, “The Purpose-Driven Life”, Rick Warren says that “you were made by God and for God … and until you understand that, life will never make sense.”

So, we need to go back to the beginning – when the universe, our world and the human race were created.

The Bible teaches that God truly did create a wonderful universe. God did not need to create the universe: He chose to create it. Why? God is love, and love is best expressed toward something or someone else – so God created the world and people as an expression of His love.

The Bible also teaches that you and I are created in God’s image (the Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verses 26 & 27), in that we have the ability to reflect God’s character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.

Knowing that we are made in God’s image and thus share many of His characteristics provides a solid basis for self-worth. Human worth is not based on possessions, achievements, physical attractiveness, or public acclaim. (In fact, the Bible says in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 11, verse 28, that “a life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree”).

Instead life is based on being made in God’s image. Because we bear God’s image, we can feel positive about ourselves. Criticizing or downgrading ourselves is criticizing what God has made and the abilities He has given us. Knowing that you are a person of worth helps you love God, know Him personally, and make a valuable contribution to those around you.

This then is God’s purpose for every single person – to be in a living, loving relationship with Him whereby our self-worth, significance and security (the basic needs of every human being) are firmly rooted in God, even as we know that we are protected, loved and valued by God. Then, empowered by God’s love, we are to care for others as we care for ourselves.

But God did not force us to be in a relationship with Him. Instead He gave us the freedom of choice. Without choice, we would have been like prisoners, forced to love God whether we want to or not, and our relationship with Him would have been hollow.